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Taiwanese officials are warning China to think twice before attacking the island nation, claiming Taiwan has missile capabilities to attack Beijing.
In a recent interview with Taiwanese media, You Si Kun, president of Taiwan’s Legislative Assembly, said his country would not shy away from deploying its Yun Feng supersonic cruise missiles should China invade.
Taiwanese naval officers on a military ship during a drill to improve readiness amid escalating Taiwan-China tensions, in Taiwan, January 2022. (Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Yung Fend missiles can already hit Beijing, and Taiwan has the ability to attack Beijing,” they said, according to Liberty Times Net.
Taiwan’s defense ministry has allocated more funding in recent years to bolster the ability of Yung Feng missiles to penetrate China more deeply, The War Zone writes. Its newer variant is said to have an extended range of 1,200 miles, meaning it could theoretically successfully hit Beijing, which is about 1,150 miles from Taiwan.
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Citing Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, they noted that the will to fight of the population outweighed any missile capabilities.
“That [Chinese Community Party] have to cross the Taiwan Strait to attack Taiwan, which is different from Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” they said. “If you want to land, you will fight on the beachhead. If the landing is successful, everyone in Taiwan must be as determined to die as Ukraine. Go out and never let China swallow Taiwan.”
FILE: A Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies at an undisclosed location in this undated file photo released by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry (Taiwan’s Defense Ministry via AP)
Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949, but China claims the island as its own territory and has not ruled out using military force to take it.
China has stepped up military provocations against democratic Taiwan in recent years to intimidate it into accepting Beijing’s demands for unification with the communist mainland.
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The Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which governs US relations with the island, does not require US military intervention if China invades, but makes it American policy to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself and prevent a unilateral status change from Beijing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.